Many of us have some niche hobby or community we’re a part of. It can feel really cool to be a part of something that most people don’t know about. Are these small hobby groups, like the ocarina community, better off niche?
We’ll use ocarinas and the community surrounding them to illustrate everything in this video, since outside of a few countries, they’re very niche. Let’s discuss.
The Niche Experience—Pros and Cons
On one hand, it can be lonely that this instrument is primarily a hobby that I do by myself. Outside of other community members, I quite literally cannot do it socially, since so few people play the instrument. There are probably at most 10-20 people within a 100 mile radius that play the ocarina somewhat seriously. It can be lonely & isolating to know I can’t mutually disucss ocarinas with the vast majority of people!
On the other hand, whenever I do meet a fellow ocarina player, having this extremely niche hobby in common creates an instant affinity, and it’s so much easier to connect with them. For example, I used to go to a local anime convention called FanimeCon every year from like, 2008 to 2019. From 2012 onward I developed a reputation as the “Ocarina Guy” at the event, since I’d play ocarina in the halls for hours every day. Throughout that time, I met a few ocarina players, and simply having the ocarina in common created an instant connection. Heck, I met David Ramos at Fanime in 2015 and that’s what ultimately led to our friendship and him inviting me to Ocabanda.
When a hobby is niche, it makes connecting over that hobby exceptionally special. It’s like a fun secret society.
…but do we lose that magic if a niche hobby enters mainstream awareness?
What if Ocarinas (or any niche) Became Mainstream?
Let’s define mainstream as more than one third of people would know what your niche hobby is if you brought it up, and unless you live somewhere crazy rural, there is some local infrastructure for that hobby. Think like, ukulele classes, ceramic workshops, painting studios, local choirs and orchestras, things like that. Just about everybody knows what all of those things are, and there are enough participants to develop local hobby or professional communities in most areas.
How would the ocarina community change if it were more mainstream?
First, I wouldn’t have to explain what an ocarina is to everyone who I mention it to. That’d be nice.
Second, it’d be a lot less lonely. Anybody interested in ocarinas could go somewhere local to learn and make face-to-face friends over it. Note I’m not discounting online friends and communities, but even with these, the best times are when you can meet online friends in person. There’d probably be things like ocarina classes, local septets, maybe ocarina making workshops?
However, it’d be easier to get lost in a more well-known hobby. There are communities of runners but no running community. There are many people who play the trumpet, but not a trumpet community.
Sure, you’d have an easier time to find others who enjoy the hobby, but if a hobby is too big, you lose that instant connection from simply participating. That said, if I mention to someone I enjoy running and they enjoy running too, that gives us something to talk about and connect on, but it’s nowhere near as special as when I find out somebody plays the ocarina and we connect on that (when there are so few of us).
Regardless, the benefits of mainstream popularity outweigh the drawback of losing the specialness of the niche community. There would be a lot more ocarina makers innovating new ocarina designs, so much more music written for ocarinas, and so many more skilled musicians playing amazing ocarina music, probably even getting featured bits in pop songs (look at Lizzo playing flute on her tracks, an ocarina could do that). Ocarinas might be taught in schools and replace recorders, which considering how much easier it is to get started playing an ocarina, is a huge win.
In a world where ocarinas are mainstream, you might not become an instant friend with someone just because you both play ocarina, but it’s still something in common to build a connection off of. One major goal with my content is to popularize ocarinas by making them more accessible through digestible, educational, yet entertaining content, so clearly, the future I want is one where ocarinas are closer to mainstream!
Mainstream Awareness Doesn’t Mean Everyone Does It
And ocarinas can be mainstream in terms of public knowledge while still remaining a relatively niche hobby! Everyone knows what a piano is, but it’s not like everyone plays piano. Everyone knows what ceramics & pottery are, but very few people actually make them. I’d love a world where everyone knows what an ocarina is, regardless of how many people play them!
What’s your niche hobby? And what would happen if it became more mainstream—do you think it’d improve the community, and would the community lose something if it became popular? Let me know in the comments below.
And if you want to know why ocarinas are so niche, check out my post on that and how we can work to popularize them! Also, check out patreon.com/andycormier for my discord server and bonus content.
Andy Cormier 